Eyes at death
by cosmic
Summary: The SeeDs' minibreak starts to take a menacing tone. While Quistis and Seifer share a tense attraction, dark and increasingly sinister events bring the SeeDs to question themselves, their pasts, and even reality. A dark and dramatic story of fated love.


A date with a killer 

I know I haven't finished "Illusions" – im working on the next chapter now – but I felt like something new and different! Tell me how you like this story, and I might continue it…

**

The setting sun glowed with a rusty halo, burnishing the tops of the trees and the placid surface of the lake. It had wings; tiny, gleaming strips of cloud drifted alongside, tinged with gold, violet and indigo. She sat amongst the glistening reeds at the lakeside, slender paintbrush in hand, blending cobalt, crimson and yellow into a fiery combination of colours. She smiled, feeling her worries ebbing away from her with the rays of the dying sun.  Her hand began to move deftly across the paper, bringing it to life. The slightly smudged hills in the distance scoured the darkening sky; the sea was a soft, pastel line against the horizon. The sun cast a tapering arc of light down the middle of the lake, dappled with the shadows of the nomadic clouds above. A puff of breeze ruffled her blonde hair for an instant, before drifting away to settle amongst the flowers.

"Quistis…Quistis?"

"Hi, Rinny" Quistis murmured, putting down her pad and turning towards the petite girl. Rinoa cocked her head to one side, the sleek black layers framing her face perfectly. 

"Hate to break it to you, but there are other men in your life apart from your paintbrush."

"Very funny", Quistis retorted. "I still can't believe your father's mansion is so enormous. And I can't believe he let us have a big celebration party all on our own here, either!! I mean, it's so beautiful out here in the open country…the skies…the opportunities to pursue my hobbies…"

"You mean by your hobbies, being boring. C'mon!! We just defeated Ultimecia, I've finally gotten through to Squall, and Selphie and Irvine are pretty much paired up. Let's have some fun! Hey…you know what?" Rinoa narrowed her eyes mischievously and helped Quistis up off the grass, dusting down her white cotton evening-dress.

"What?"

"Why don't you and Seifer hook up?"

"WHAT??" Quistis pushed Rinoa playfully into a patch of reeds. "Like I'd ever date that creep! He only came along because Squall insisted, remember? I don't plan to have anything to do with him."

"Come on, there's nothing like a little togetherness…"

Laughing, Quistis tickled Rinoa devilishly in retaliation. Eventually, the two exhausted girls, still flushed from laughter, trooped up the long dirt path towards the enormous arch-shaped mansion where they were all staying for the weekend.

"What are we doing tonight?"

"I thought we'd have a bit of fun…share old stories…you know" answered Rinoa. "And Squall and I are taking a rooommaaaannntttiiiicc lakeside walk, later."

"Squall, romantic? He'd rather have all his teeth pulled than be romantic."

"Yeah, yeah, say what you want…he loves me. Fell left out? There's always Seifer…"

"Oh, shut up!"

**

"Come on Squall! Give poor Rinoa a break. There's no fun in being hooked up with a no all-work no-play guy…"

"Selphie, please go away. I need to finish this paperwork."

"We're on holiday for God's sakes! And what about Rinoa?"

"I love Rinoa, Selph, but she's just going to have to understand."

The perky brunette hopped off the corner of Squall's desk, several sheets of paper sliding off the polished mahogany and floating gracefully to the ground. She smoothed down her sunshine-yellow dress and put on a fake angry expression.

"Sure, Squall, I see your dilemma." She gestured with both hands. "Beautiful girl, little piles of paper. Beautiful girl, little piles of paper."

"They aren't little piles of paper!"

Selphie picked up a thick wad of accounts sheets and riffled through them impatiently. "Okay, BIG piles of paper."

Squall bit his lip to keep from smiling. He could always count on Selphie to cheer him up if he needed to be cheered up. These were real friends, not some manic sycophants at the garden who just wanted to get close to their mean, moody "Commander". Not that he minded the screaming girls, of course.

"Look, Selphie, I just need to finish this garden report…"

"We aren't at Garden, Squall baby. We're on HOLIDAY and you're still hooked up on a hot date with a load of work. Let me see this!"

Selphie snatched the sheaf of neatly printed papers from his clasp and straightened them out in front of her, looking at Squall down her nose, her green eyes piercing and sparkling with mischief.  She began to read, adjusting an imaginary pair of pince-nez on her nose.

"We the people of Garden…" She started to choke with laughter. "We the people? This isn't the Declaration of Independence!!!"

"I thought it sounded…emphatic."

Selphie cleared her throat pointedly and began again. "We the people of Garden have so far realised that in the course of the last semester, several atrocities have risen to the surface of events. In this leaflet we will discuss the certain issues that have become uppermost in priority. Please read with all due expediency…Oh my God, Squall, these poor people will need a dictionary! Come on, you're coming to dinner and you're not even going to LOOK at another word longer than four letters for the duration of this holiday. Do you understand?"

"…"

"DO YOU?"

"Whatever…"

**

Okay, I know it isn't very interesting so far, but it will! It isn't very much in the style of my other fanfics but I guess I needed a break from all that drama (well, this will BE a drama…I guess some things will never change…)#

Review and tell me whether its worth continuing!


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